[judst]

What does it mean if your protein levels have gone down but but your pre-albumin has gone up? Is that a good thing?

(Doc, I responded to your post in the Cavalia thread)

[DocSanae]

I can't really say without seeing the actual numbers.
I know your protein levels were below par, so getting lower than that means that increasing your protein intake isn't enough yet in catching up and rasing your protein level.
As for pre-albumin, it's an indicator for malnutrition, so if it was low from the start, it means you were malnourished, and if it's closer to the normal range, then your system is in the very early stages of catching up, too early to show up as your protein level. If it was in the normal range and getting higher, it may mean something else.

[judst]

Thanks Doc, I wish I'd gotten the numbers but I just talked to one of the medical assistants and it was mostly about the pain I'm having. I called back later this afternoon because of my discomfort and the NP said to alternate ice and heat packs over the area. I think my surgeon is still out of town but she said she would run it by him when she talked to him tonight.

Back to the another lab question... What is the difference between albumin and pre-albumin?

I also want to say thank you for your quick responses and willingness to be patient with my questions. I know you can't offer medical advice but your knowledge and opinions mean so much! Hugs

[judst]

After grilling Doc Sanae with a bunch of questions on labs I found this really good web site that you can do a search of what's on you lab sheets and see what exactly all that stuff means. If you're like me and not in the medical field you probably don't understand half of what our tests are. I found this site informative and helpful in learning what I'm looking at on my lab reports.

http://labtestsonline.org/lab/